by Jamie Flores
(Public Relations)
While I was in community college, I counted down the semesters and days until I could apply to transfer to Gonzaga University. I was excited to potentially continue my college education at my number one university. So, when my acceptance letter finally arrived in the mail, I was extremely excited to finally get to experience the college life and atmosphere; something that I was not experiencing at my community college.
Coming in to Gonzaga as a junior I knew that I did not have as much time here so, I had to take in every moment and everything that Gonzaga had to offer. I was excited to be Zag and to attend all the basketball games I could. I came into the Gonzaga community as an upcoming junior full of excitement and confidence, but some of that excitement and confidence started to fade during my first couple of weeks in the semester. I started to question if I was academically ready to be at this institution. My pass school didn’t put as much emphases on academics as did Gonzaga. Therefore, I started to question if I was actually ready to take on the curriculum and standards that Gonzaga sets for their students. But what I quickly learned was that though Gonzaga holds academics at a high standard it is also there to help you. I saw the what and need that professors want for their students to success. Being able to see that your professors actually care showed me that I was here at Gonzaga for a reason. There was a reason as to why I was accepted to this university.
This whole transfer experience was not all sunshine and rainbows. It was not easy to move away from home and to a new school where I didn’t know a single person. I came to Gonzaga as a junior during the fall semester and trying to make friends and get to know people was tough. To be completely transparent, it is going to be tough for incoming transfer students to find lifelong friends and a niche. When entering a new school, you will find that everyone already has a group of friends that they have meet during their freshman year. And it can be scary or nerve racking to try to fit into those already establish group of friends. But something that really helped was getting involved. I took full opportunity when the club fair can around. I was able to really get involved with two clubs in particular; Residence Hall Association and La Raza Latina. These two clubs really helped me get to know the people I know today and develop the relationships that I have now. I also took advantage of most of luncheons that the TVRAS office put on during the year. These luncheons brought me back to a niche community in where some of the relationships that I had develop couldn’t quite understand. TVRAS helped me solidify my place at Gonzaga. I was able to go in and get help as well as spend time with my fellow transfer students.
Though, my time at Gonzaga is starting to come to a close, I know that I made the right decided to transfer to this university. I am glad that I got to study at a university that values academics as highly as Gonzaga does. I am also grateful that I had to opportunity to study abroad, a feat that many transfer students may seem is not possible for them. This just shows that the staff and faculty here at Gonzaga truly are here to help you, whether that is trying to figure out if it is possible for you to study abroad, answer questions in class, or simply to point you in the right direction when were lost. I only wish that I could have spent more than 2 years here at Gonzaga, but still I am happy for the time that I was here. Go Zags.